Ewell CFC

Its plainly obvious that the owners priority is no longer CFC ( with the enormous exception of financing the new ground), which may possibly be around for longer than himself and serve as a lasting legacy. I've no idea what sort of whole in his wallet Chelsea has cost him to date- wasn't there originally some loan scheme, which was effectively nullified in time? ( the football club does not owe him any dough to my knowledge. His present wife is very much into art, and he's been indulging this big time for a good while now; art is an investment with almost guaranteed returns, whereas" investing" in top footballers brings no guarantees, and with wages and agents fees the money doesn't touch the sides.

Well said that man. Hes starting to make Mourinho look like the laughing policeman.

Blimey it's glum on here.

With all the talk of our new stadium, which thankfully will still be located at the only place we've ever called home... What are your top experiences at the Bridge, for whatever reasons? 1) Chelsea 4 Hull 0 1977. Promotion Party. You couldn't see the pitch for celebrating fans. 2) Chelsea 2 Liverpool 0 FA Cup 1982 We were mid table old 2nd Division, the "thieves" were European Champions and title elect winners. The shed was rocking. 3) Chelsea 4 Bolton 3 1979 A late 4 goal comeback with winner sliced into his own net by Sam Allardyce. ( No laughing) 4) Chelsea 3 Vicenza 1 CWC Semi 98 Sparky sealed it- we were off for our 1st Euro final in 27 years. Magic atmosphere. 5) Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2 CL Semi 2008 No explanation required

Can see similaritys between Cole and Hazard, but Hazard a consistent match winner whereas with Cole it was a little more hit and miss. Regarding Zola, fantastic player as he was ( the most two footed player I've seen in a Chelsea shirt), he did get muscled out on occasions. I went to one of the last games played at Maine Road and he didn't get a sniff. A couple of people around me reckoned he'd got sussed out slightly- double up marking etc, and by his lofty standards didn't have his best season. Delighted to say he was back to his finest the next year, and could have been part of the Roman set up but had pledged to return to Sardinia.

First screw ins were the dreaded Winfield ( Woolworths), then Adidas Beckenbeur Supers. Top football boots were real objects of desire. Sometimes during school holidays we'd get the bus to places like Lillywhites and drool over Puma Kings and Adidas World Cups- there's no way our parents would shell out for them.

Did Wimbledon get a 50/50 ticket allocation for the Semi at Highbury? I couldn't get one through Chelsea, made enquiries on Wimbledon's phone line- no joy. There were plenty of empty spaces which peeved me no end. Note: the attendance was 32, 734. What would have been capacity at the Library back then? Footnote: according to Wikipedia, Highbury's capacity post Taylor Report was 38,419

We played Newcastle at home in 91, shortly after Keegan got bashed up and robbed late night in a lay bye on Reigate Hill- it was all a bit risqué- anyway one of the CFC fanzines had a cartoon of some brute with a bat looking at a bruised Keegan with his curly perm " Sorry Kev, I didn't know it was you" was the caption. was

The plan was for the club to be self financing, and not rely on Romans wallet, which it pretty much is now, albeit with a net spend of not a lot over the last few years. Common sense tells me this is the way it's gonna stay unless the big white chief decides to bankroll us again.

It's very easy to say that the board aren't backing the manager, however this is largely governed by how keen Roman is to dig into his own pockets in order to finance. The new stadium needs paying for, Chelsea is essentially his hobby; under him we've won every competition out there including the big one. Does he get the same kick winning things as he did back in 2005? Ps it doesn't help blowing 100 Million on some mediocre players but he doesn't have bottomless pockets

I think on the whole football fans are a pretty forgiving bunch ( West Ham excluded who definitely harbour grudges) Numerous times players have pushed for a move- spouted off to the press- the transfer didn't happen but they've got themselves a pay rise- so their back at the Bridge first game of the season.... Next thing the crowd are chanting their name and all the previous chicanery' s forgotten. Call me a cynic, but I think a lot of them get off lightly

I've booed loads of times over the years. Cant see the big deal- it's the flip side of the coin to cheering. Players don't mind the adulation and having their names chanted when things are going well, likewise when they stink they should be able to accept some stick. You pay your money and are free to let off steam and express yourself ( within limits) Being booed could even act as a motivational tool- if they don't like it they should try and look at the situation through the supporters prism; learn from their mistakes, and don't give cause to get jeered again. Im not sure about this year, but last season Fellani regular got booed by United fans when he got put on as sub. Im sure that gave him a boost!

I'd no expert but reckon that when we changed badge in 2005, it helped sell a lot more merchandising. I know of many fans- me included- who never bought anything which displayed the old badge because it was disliked so much. If it was a copyright issue which led to the the " Millwall Lion" badge, which unbelievably was around for 20 odd years, I don't know why they didn't just reverse the rampant lion so it was facing the other way- as Arsenal did with their cannon? My favourite is still the classic one which I think was adopted from Earl Cadogans coat of arms, with a slight variation being the turquoise outer rim ( Was around for a couple of years in the mid 80's)

Horses for courses but loathe the 86 Millwall lion badge. I wonder if that pratt Donal MacIntyre's still got a tattoo of that one his shoulder, grassing c..t.

Have a look at the rampant lion on the supporters club badge! Anyone remember Bridge News that used to get sent to members once a month? It was Bates's propaganda mag. One thing he was always going on about was imploring fans not spending money on food and merchandising outside the ground. ( He wanted every single penny for himself/ the club) Im sure he had a say in getting rid of the hotdog stalls on Fulham Broadway- they seemed to survive far longer outside of other grounds.

We had some good times at OT around then. The song to the tune of That's Amore went " When the ball hits the back of the Old Trafford net, that's Vialli....When your face is so glum and your names Ferguson, that's Vialli.... " Sixty thousand muppets" was another popular one

There's far more traffic on this site when we are doing comparitively bandy, as compared with when all's ticking over nicely. We all enjoy a good moan up so it's human nature I guess.

Currently in our outhouse, one of the old Chelsea mirrors that were spoken about a while back. My brothers also have got one each. Note only 4 trophies won, as enscribed. They came from the Armadale Centre Wandsworth circa 77

Good trip that was- incredibly laid back old bill I remember. Did anyone else stay in that weird holiday camp type set up in Stockholm, that was full of Chelsea?

Big similarities there to the Ossie scenario- following previous chatter I did a bit of digging around. Coming into the 1970 tournament he was the 1st Divisions top scorer with 31 goals, and in his own words in the form of his life. Jeff Astle got put on as sub against Brazil, missed a sitter... Ossie got the hump, went out and got pissed, missed training the next day, and didn't get picked for the next four years. Not that he was ever an Alf Ramsey type player anyway- he was a disciplinarian and didn't take to flair players. Little Alf Ramsey story going back to 66...Jimmy Greaves was now fit however wasn't starting against Portugal- he werent delighted about this. Riding high in the charts at the time was Cilla Black and the theme tune to Alfie. In Ramsey's earshot Jimmy used to start singing " What's it all about, Alfie?" !! Made me laugh anyway

For a brief time I'd be Peter Osgood down the park, but only if my older brother wasn't playing, because he'd claim the Ossie tag himself. This stopped when I was 8 or so when he got sold to Southampton. It's funny how things change so quickly with kids, cause shortly after that the schoolground song became " Osgood woz good now he's no good." After that no-one until Butch Wilkins started really making a name for himself in 76. Around that time he started going out with my cousin Jaqui- I used to fantasise about them popping round and having a kick a bout with him in the back garden

Great goal. Arie Haan had his shooting boots on that's for sure- his strike against Italy was a stonker- my favourite long range shot ever.

When managers are interviewed on MOTD, the commentator will immediately ask the manager what he thought of the penalty/ sending off, or anything remotely controversial. ( never mind how fantastic the actual game was) The manager then has to play this little game where he disagrees with the refs decision, regardless of the facts. Then Lineker will say " Maybe we should start with the penalty...." The whole coverage has been manufactured to focus on incident/ drama. They seem obsessed with so called "talking points". It's funny that when I'm on the way home after a game, the talking points amongst my mates tends to be a glorious 60 yards pass, or someone having a nightmare - the game in general rather than how the ref did or some other petty sideshow. Ive no doubt that television company's sit down with the Premier League and discuss how they want their product to be shown. Maximum drama and controversy have outrumped the football itself. It's alienating a lot of fans IMO

It's all incredibly tedious. What the media deem as newsworthy, football fans generally view as boring froth. Its funny how the media are only interested in so called spats amongst managers they view as "box office" As for these so called mind games; total load of crap in my opinion. There was a view a few years back that in order to win silverware you had to be a nasty sod, continually baiting refs, and getting under the skin of opposing managers. Hey presto, Mr nice guy Claudio Ranieri does the business with Leicester. Next year own our Conte triumphs whilst acting like a gentleman. Mario Pochettino's done well at Spurs whilst keeping his head under the parapet. We all know that Jose's a nasty piece of work, and the media of a load of sh*te pedlars looking for headlines- Who gives a monkeys

Apologies. Aylott scored against Forest at home, who were flying high at the time. (5th November). He also scored against Bristol City the week before- both 1 nil wins. The only goals he ever scored for us! I remember half the shed once singing " Aylott Off". His confidence had gone poor sod.